Nutty Neighbors

[jamespowers]

I wouldn’t call this “nutty neighbors” but… look at my predicament, I have a really nice Vietnamese couple or family next door, my only problem is that they have 4 to 5 cars parked on the street, accross the street or where ever, I’m not some grumpy old guy, I don’t gripe much but I am annoyed when people park in front of my house, when I have company there is no place to park but in my drive way. I sold one of my cars (a truck) and now park in front of my house while I am cleaning up my garage, painting, and adding shelves for yard tools.
I think this family has family members (renters) to help support; I don’t want to bother people, all I wish is to be left alone, have easy access to on the street parking, I think they get a hint as they see I nolonger park inside the garage, what would you do?

You don't want to know.
Actually I have this prank thing left over from a few of my father's exploits as a child. You hook the two lead wires to two spark plugs and they will never park in front of your house again after the screaching, smoke and pop sounds stop coming from under their hood.

Regards,

J

 

[Hondo]

You don't want to know.
Actually I have this prank thing left over from a few of my father's exploits as a child. You hook the two lead wires to two spark plugs and they will never park in front of your house again after the screaching, smoke and pop sounds stop coming from under their hood.

Regards,

J

I don’t know, that would probably get me labeled as neighborhood terrorists, too old to go to jail for pranks. But thanks are in store, I could set up red cones and say “This site is under construction”

 

[jamespowers]

I don’t know, that would probably get me labeled as neighborhood terrorists, too old to go to jail for pranks. But thanks are in store, I could set up red cones and say “This site is under construction”

I told you you didn't want to know.

 

[Dr Doran]

I wouldn’t call this “nutty neighbors” but… look at my predicament, I have a really nice Vietnamese couple or family next door, my only problem is that they have 4 to 5 cars parked on the street, accross the street or where ever, I’m not some grumpy old guy, I don’t gripe much but I am annoyed when people park in front of my house, when I have company there is no place to park but in my drive way. I sold one of my cars (a truck) and now park in front of my house while I am cleaning up my garage, painting, and adding shelves for yard tools.
I think this family has family members (renters) to help support; I don’t want to bother people, all I wish is to be left alone, have easy access to on the street parking, I think they get a hint as they see I nolonger park inside the garage, what would you do?

Sounds like they are nice people, Hondo, who can communicate logically if you present your side to them! No griping, I mean, simply a conversation. Some of the good people on this thread (no names shall be mentioned) seem reluctant to CHAT with the annoying neighbors rather than rigging up Rube Goldberg-style demolition devices.
ONCE AGAIN I offer my old advice: SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK. Converse politely but have psycho friends hang out and intimidate them just a little bit. Make a loud noise once in a while, like busted glass. Keep them JUST A LEETLE scared and they will be much more willing to listen to reason.

 

[jamespowers]

Sounds like they are nice people, Hondo, who can communicate logically if you present your side to them! No griping, I mean, simply a conversation. Some of the good people on this thread (no names shall be mentioned) seem reluctant to CHAT with the annoying neighbors rather than rigging up Rube Goldberg-style demolition devices.
ONCE AGAIN I offer my old advice: SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK. Converse politely but have psycho friends hang out and intimidate them just a little bit. Make a loud noise once in a while, like busted glass. Keep them JUST A LEETLE scared and they will be much more willing to listen to reason.

Devices speak lounder than words. They never park in front of my house for some reason too. [huh]

 

[Tommy Fedora]

Don't do anything in the heat of emotion. You'll probably have to live with these people a long time and it'll be worse to be at odds with them. Be their friend and they'll show greater respect.

 

[jamespowers]

Don't do anything in the heat of emotion. You'll probably have to live with these people a long time and it'll be worse to be at odds with them. Be their friend and they'll show greater respect.

That works with some people. The trick is being able to tell which kind of person you are talking to. [huh]

 

[Diamondback]

Sounds like they are nice people, Hondo, who can communicate logically if you present your side to them! No griping, I mean, simply a conversation. Some of the good people on this thread (no names shall be mentioned) seem reluctant to CHAT with the annoying neighbors rather than rigging up Rube Goldberg-style demolition devices.
ONCE AGAIN I offer my old advice: SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK. Converse politely but have psycho friends hang out and intimidate them just a little bit. Make a loud noise once in a while, like busted glass. Keep them JUST A LEETLE scared and they will be much more willing to listen to reason.

+1, sir. Kind words, reason and logic first, kind words with "unease-causing" backup second, "firepower" only after all else fails.

 

[jamespowers]

+1, sir. Kind words, reason and logic first, kind words with "unease-causing" backup second, "firepower" only after all else fails.

Sounds more to the point and about what I was trying to get at.

 

[Diamondback]

Sounds more to the point and about what I was trying to get at.

Yeah, why waste good tac-nukes when mere words'll solve it with far less fallout? Where's the :evil: emoticon?

 

[Hondo]

I am not the great communicator, wouldn’t let emotions get in the way. Lets all be good neighbors.
I don’t own the street but do expect, respect from neighbors. I will take your advice, give it a thought, so far it’s not a big deal to hassle over since I park in front, time will tell when I return to using my garage, thanks

In the words of Carlos Santana, You got to change your evil ways, baby!!! lol

 

[Roger]

I am not the great communicator, wouldn’t let emotions get in the way. Lets all be good neighbors.
I don’t own the street but do expect, respect from neighbors. I will take your advice, give it a thought, so far it’s not a big deal to hassle over since I park in front, time will tell when I return to using my garage, thanks

In the words of Carlos Santana, You got to change your evil ways, baby!!! lol

Well, their taxes also pays for the street. It's something you'll have to learn to live with. Afterall, you wouldn't want to be the "nutty neighbor". Now if the car is parked there forever, then you have a legitimate gripe.

 

[carebear]

If they are packing renters into a single-family home there may be zoning issues involved at some point.

But that would be a resort I'd go to only if they were actually being evil, not just inconvenient.

 

[Hondo]

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!

There's a Momma bear, two young married bears, and ???? The guys a car sales men, I'll cut him some slack, only because he has a cute wife

Yeah last resort, not a "mean old man" they move the car's around.
I'm fine with it so far, until I see what happens when garage is ready.

 

[jamespowers]

There's a Momma bear, two young married bears, and ???? The guys a car sales men, I'll cut him some slack, only because he has a cute wife

Yeah last resort, not a "mean old man" they move the car's around.
I'm fine with it so far, until I see what happens when garage is ready.

Hmmm sounds like a possiblity of 6 or more people living in that house. [huh]
I had the problem with some neighbors of my mother. The house was a corner house that was being rented. Fortunately it was a corner house because they took every single parking place all the way around their corner. The problem was that they were parking on the corner. You couldn't see to round the corner onto the street or even cross the street at the corner. Obviously illegal and a hazzard to kids playing in the street. (Yeah there are kids still living there).
After the first few tickets they got, they stopped parking on the corner. The house is empty now though. One of the dozen or so living in the two bedroom one bath house managed to catch the kitchen on fire and gut the kitchen. It has stayed vacant now without any repairs other than plywood over the window hole for at least two years.
Good thing the neighbor heard the window blowing out at about 9am. If she had not called the police, the house would have been a smoking pile of rubble. :eusa_doh:

 

[Lincsong]

Some neighbors lack social graces so they get all huffy for the littlest thing. Probably looking for attention.

 

[FinalVestige79]

Boy-o boy, do these posts take me back...lol Good times. When in was younger I lived with my grandparents a lot... we had the nice Swiss lady who sold salads and sandwiches to a catering company on the right and then the nice polish lady on the left. The lady on the left moved out...to be replaced my some latino family, I used to play with the 2 sons...our family and thiers got along...until the dad put up a basketball hoop on the right side of their driveway and there was no wall at the time so if they overshot or was too low the ball would hit a car in our driveway. The sons and I got in somr scraps about it...like boys do.

They would party a lot tho..and my room would over look the backyard and the pool and we had a roof over the patio and our backyard shared a wall with a park, I would climb out my window...get on the roof...and would throw fireworks over the wall into their backyard return i got egged...they had horrible aim tho! HA!..They would have family over...i remember one of their cousins..Priscilla or something like that was really bossy and would steal my toys. And then my grandparents pedal cars started disappearing...

A couple years after that, the Swiss lady moved...and another latino family came. The Dad was a cop...they had 2 18-19 yr old sons...who would ride thier bikes into our front lawn to get to thier side gate. And their 10 yr old daughter would pick on my little sister...this wasn't received well. They would have parties with thier loud rap music and mariachi, reegeton or whatever blaring into the wee hours of the morning...and remember the father was a cop and was there the entire time!...They got some interesting homemade surprises during their parties via the*cough* Anarchists Cookbook, and the Uncle Fester series...*cough* I'm very crafty... lol good times...good times indeed. And they never knew it was me...because most of the time the people were so drunk they thought it came from the park...the entire block shared a wall with a local park...which led to our avacado trees being pillaged... Just think of a kid with night vision goggles and a modified airsoft gun holding vigil in full camo..just waiting. haha God I miss those days!

 

[Foofoogal]

Years ago we lived in one of those places only divided by fences in back yard and close together.
We got along fine with man and his wife but then she left and he became a swinging bachelor.
He was sort of in charge of disaster preparation around the area or something like that.
One night when our children were small about 2:00 in the a.m. someone was mowing outside our windows. I think every law enforcement in the area was drunk and next door. Somehow someone thought it was time to mow.
All I could think of is: What if there is a disaster. Who you gonna call and who are you gonna call to report drunk and disorderly? lol
He finally got married and settled down again.

 

[Lincsong]

A neighbor was putting in a new driveway the other day and someone called the cops because the cement truck was double parked and he had to drive around the truck. I can't beleive there are people who are still jealous when they see someone improving their property.:eusa_doh:

 

[Dr Doran]

2 years later ... the return of this thread

Wow, Paul, thanks for resurrecting this thread.

I may have mentioned this two years ago when I last saw the thread, but just in case I didn't:

Berkeley neighbors can be annoying. Everyone is a wealthy highly educated busybody Baby Boomer wearing hideous tie dyes, Birkenstocks, and straggly beards even though they have plenty of money and can afford a barber, who feels it is imperative to tell you what you should believe. They are mainly very far left politically but some have a few odd rightist political quirks. They are deeply involved in the City Council, which is fine, but a bit annoying -- they want to exercise their political voice on every possible issue, big and tiny. They have a Mission and they cannot leave other people alone.

The street where we rent (Lincsong and James Powers have seen it) is quite nice, tree-filled, lots of deer, beautiful views. No apartment buildings at all and a very high rate of ownership. A desirable place to live. The problem is, all the 64 year olds on the block are so very careful about crime that they overreact at the hint of it. Before we got our black Scion XB, we happened to have a very crappy little red 1980s Nissan Sentra that we got for $500. THREE TIMES, the neighbors called the city to tow it because they thought it was an abandoned car and they couldn't be bothered to ask around to see if anyone knew whose car it was. Luckily the City only put a notice on the car, rather than towing it. I found out who the overzealous police-caller was, and came very close to going over to their house and having a most unpleasant (and possibly illegal) confrontation. (I suspect that if that confrontation had occurred, the cops would have been called as well.)

Luckily I had an exchange with the woman of the neighborhood who acts as a communication broker for the street, and she had a politer word with the offending couple, saying that the Nissan Sentra was, yes, our car, and that the reason why we had such a crappy car is because we were both graduate students who couldn't afford a better one. The faint whiff of classism that she brought to the conflict humbled the zealous couple. They didn't want to be thought of as looking down on a poor couple of graduate students trying to make ends meet. So they stopped calling the coppers after that on our car.

So no need to take a nasty revenge ... THIS TIME.